(N.B.) Opposition takes government to task for 'rushed' cannabis groundwork

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
Progressive Conservatives say the government of Brian Gallant is rushing preparations for the legalization of marijuana, and even the summer-long consultations with the public were inadequate.

The party released its response Thursday to the recent cannabis report by a select legislature committee that went on a provincewide tour to hear from individuals and organizations.

Three Progressive Conservatives were on the committee, but they and others in the PC caucus said the process was not informative.

"The Official Opposition finished the consultations with more questions and concerns than answers about how the Gallant government plans to introduce this legislative change," read the report.

- Public leans to legal age of 19 for pot use, MLAs report

- Cannabis consultations fuel debate over who gets to sell recreational pot

The PCs took the government to task for how it has interacted with the federal government, which decided marijuana would be legalized.

Provinces are trying to decide certain regulatory issues, such as the minimum legal age for using cannabis, where the drug will be sold, and how the regulations, including those about impairment, will be enforced.

"The New Brunswick government did not represent the interests of New Brunswickers in demanding a rational approach to legalization on the part of the federal government," the PC report says.

"Instead, as too often is the case, the provincial government will bear the costs and risks of legalization while the federal government gains political credit."

Crown vs. private retailers

One area in particular was singled out for criticism. The PC report says the province invited NB Liquor, a Crown corporation, to discuss the sale of marijuana, but excluded private retailers.

"A private retail model was excluded from the outset," the report said.

The select committee didn't make recommendations to government but instead reported on how the public felt about proposals made earlier by a provincial working group.

The committee said the majority of people it heard from preferred the Crown corporation model for cannabis sales, which was also favoured by the working group.

But the PCs said a Crown corporation model "will restrict supply, artificially inflate prices that will support a continued black market, and exclude craft growers.

"The Official Opposition believes the government's role in cannabis legalization should be focused on education and public safety, not retail sales."

Legal age

While the Progressive Conservatives did not express a specific view about a legal age for marijuana use, they have hinted they don't agree with the presumed legal age of 19, the age favoured by presenters to the select committee, according to its report.

The Opposition called for the government to fund research on the effects of marijuana on young people up to 25 years old.

"Decisions on the legal age when marijuana may be consumed, and parallel education campaigns, should be adjusted based on this research," the PC report said.

Ross Wetmore, the MLA for Gagetown-Petitcodiac and a member of the select committee, suggested that whatever the legal age, it might have to change down the road, depending on the lessons of legalization. The minimum age for buying alcohol has changed over the years, he said.

"As time goes on, and as [marijuana] becomes more normalized, we're going to see what the effects are of cannabis on a person's brain," said Wetmore, who doesn't support the move to legal pot.

"I'm not comfortable with legalizing marijuana as it is," he said.

Training, education needed says Opposition

Other recommendations from the Opposition party include more funding to police for training and drug recognition evaluators, the development of an education program, and a request that the federal government "develop Occupational Health and Safety Standards and other policies that encompass legal cannabis."

Marijuana is expected to be legalized by July 2018.

home cultivation and edible marijuana products, make it appear this process is being rushed," the report said.">"The impact on municipalities, on law enforcement, and the lack of clarity on issues including
home cultivation and edible marijuana products, make it appear this process is being rushed," the report said.
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
Forget using pot in public when drug is legal, province says in strict new rules
Adults will be allowed to carry 30 grams, and impaired drivers could face 3-step test
The New Brunswick government will impose strict limits on cannabis use in the province when the drug becomes legal next July.

Smoking it will be banned in public places under legislation to be introduced in the coming days.

Adults will be allowed to carry up to 30 grams, but there will be no limit on what they can keep in their homes.

Marijuana will have to be stored in a locked container or locked room in a user's home.

"The health and wellness of all New Brunswickers is the government's top priority," said Health Minister Benoît Bourque.

The government will also amend the Motor Vehicle Act to create a three-step test for drivers who are impaired by cannabis use. Drivers suspected of being impaired could have their licences suspended on the spot at the side of the road.

The first step in the test is based on "a kind of gadget," as Public Safety Minister Denis Landry calls it, that some critics say is not reliable.


Public Saftey Minister Denis Landry says police will use 'a kind of gadget' to help them determine whether a driver is impaired by cannabis. (Shane Fowler/CBC)

The device, piloted earlier this year in seven communities across Canada, measures the amount of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, in the driver's saliva.

Some defence lawyer groups say the test is not 100 per cent reliable because THC can show up in the body for a month after cannabis use.

"How good will it be in court?" Landry said to reporters. "If you look at the breathalyzer [that tests for alcohol], some people go into court and contest it.

"The same thing will probably happen with this and it will be for the court to decide. I'm no lawyer. I'm not a judge . … It's not for me to determine if it's OK or not."

Landry would not say what legal advice the province had from lawyers in the attorney-general's office about the enforceability of the new law.

Straight-line test
"That's not really something I have the liberty to talk about," he said.

The second step in the test would have an officer assess a driver by asking them to walk in a straight line, for example. The third possible step would be a blood test.

Landry said 18 officers in New Brunswick are now trained to detect cannabis impairment and the province will train more if that's needed.

Drivers who face short-term and administrative licence suspensions could have their vehicles impounded and will pay extra fees to get their licences reinstated.

There will be zero tolerance for new drivers and those younger than 21 who break the law.

A scramble for regulation
The legalization of recreational cannabis by the Trudeau government in Ottawa has forced provincial governments to scramble to set up retail and regulatory regimes before next July 1.

Dr. Jennifer Russell, the acting chief medical officer of health, says she hopes the new measures will help lower the rate of cannabis use among young people.

"We would not want to see those numbers go up," she said.

She said the number of young people smoking tobacco has gone down and she'd like to see cannabis use drop too, despite legalization.


Dr. Jennifer Russell, acting chief medical officer of health, hopes marijuana use among young people will decline with legalization. (Joseph Tunney/CBC)

"I think we have a good chance of success but we do have a lot of work ahead of us. I don't take any of this lightly."

The Gallant government has vowed to tightly regulate recreational cannabis use once it's legalized by the federal government next July 1. The legal age for possession and consumption in New Brunswick will be 19.

NB Liquor will run a network of up to 20 retail stores where marijuana will be sold, but the product will only be under glass, and people below the age of 19 won't be allowed in the store.

Provinces eyeing revenue
At the same time, the government says legalization offers job-creation opportunities in sectors such as growing and processing. The province could also see increased revenue.

Russell would not answer directly when asked if her public-health efforts to reduce consumption were at odds with those goals.

She said her officials have been part of all the discussions within the government.

"Public Health has been at the table," she said. "That's all we can hope for at this point."
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
"How good will it be in court?" Landry said to reporters. "If you look at the breathalyzer [that tests for alcohol], some people go into court and contest it.

"The same thing will probably happen with this and it will be for the court to decide. I'm no lawyer. I'm not a judge . … It's not for me to determine if it's OK or not."

He's the fucking public safety minister and he's bringing in laws that interfere with a citizens freedoms - but it's not up to him to determine if it's OK? WTF?
Landry would not say what legal advice the province had from lawyers in the attorney-general's office about the enforceability of the new law.
Sounds like he already know's it's unconstitutional before it's made into law.
"That's not really something I have the liberty to talk about," he said.
Straight-line test


The second step in the test would have an officer assess a driver by asking them to walk in a straight line, for example. My physical disability prevents me from completing this test - now what?
The third possible step would be a blood test. - A blood test does not indicate impairment any more than the swab does. This isn't alcohol, the presence of thc is not an indicator of impairment unlike booze where a B.A.C. of .08 is widely accepted as likely to cause impairment.
Why not try something really crazy like having a conversation with the driver and judging his/her condition on the interaction. Nothing they have in their arsenal at the moment is going to pass the first court challenge and they know it.
 

WHATFG

Well-Known Member

Drivers who face short-term and administrative licence suspensions could havetheir vehicles impounded and will pay extra fees to get their licences reinstated.

Nice....
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
better have to lock up the booze stash too then....fair is fair
every time you want a beer you will need to get the key ...same same
If cannabis, which has no overdose or deaths attributed to it, is so dangerous that it needs to be locked up...I can't see how they can permit alcohol at all. What about the car keys? A 2500 lb. car is a deadly weapon and a factor in many young deaths...combined with booze they're just asking for trouble.
Of course you could always try 'parenting'...worked with me and my kids. Most kids are going to experiment with 'adult substances'...been happening for hundreds of years, and most kids end up just fine.
I sound like a broken record, but show me the stats that prove cannabis comes anywhere close to the dangers associated with booze. "justifiable in a free a democratic society" or it don't pass the SCoC sniff test.
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
Yes it does, but so far recreational has no storage limit.
Pretty much makes that rule null and void. Anything above your mmj storage limit can be called rec. It also raises the question of why unnecessary limits were imposed on medical users in the first place when there is no such consideration for the general public?
It's shaping up to be a great comedy show folks. I'm predicting act 1 starts well before July 1st. and a continuous stream of challenges and lawsuits for years to come.
 

HotWaterKarl

Well-Known Member
"How good will it be in court?" Landry said to reporters. "If you look at the breathalyzer [that tests for alcohol], some people go into court and contest it
"The same thing will probably happen with this and it will be for the court to decide. I'm no lawyer. I'm not a judge . … It's not for me to determine if it's OK or not."

He's the fucking public safety minister and he's bringing in laws that interfere with a citizens freedoms - but it's not up to him to determine if it's OK? WTF?.
For the first time in my life, the government has me scared that they actually want to profit off the entirely made up misfortune of others.

Voters will HOLD YOU and THEM TO ACCOUNT Denis Landry. You WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for ALL OF THE LIVES YOU DESTROY!

You better hope better brains than you exist at higher levels.

 

HotWaterKarl

Well-Known Member
The first thing we should do is start website and perhaps a non-profit dedicated to putting all this info on all these government assholes and collusion Front and Center on the web. We could call it something like "Grandmothers Against Marijuana Collusion" lol....We need VOTERS to remember WHO IS RESPONSIBLE for making these greed based choices, and after many many innocent lives are totally destroyed by the driving legislation which does not even measure impairment (after all, could you afford to fight it dear reader?).
 

trippingballs

Active Member
What you are saying is no joke, friend. They have in one fell swoop criminalized everyone. Too bad you happened to be in the vicinity of the last person who smoked a joint. You're fucked. Can't wait for the first orthodox minister to get fucked.
 

VIANARCHRIS

Well-Known Member
What you are saying is no joke, friend. They have in one fell swoop criminalized everyone. Too bad you happened to be in the vicinity of the last person who smoked a joint. You're fucked. Can't wait for the first orthodox minister to get fucked.
Relax. As with everything cannabis that government touches, most of it will be deemed unconstitutional and will be tossed by the courts. No one is getting convicted for inhaling second-hand smoke.
 
Top